Yesterday marked the end of my first break here at KIS. I
had airport duty last night, which was hectic to say the least. I love most
everything about the school here, but sometimes there is a huge lack of
organization, which can be a little frustrating. It seems that often the
administrators, teachers, and dorm staff are all on different wavelengths about
certain things. That’s my only current complaint though!
Last week Friday began Chuseok break. Chuseok is the
equivalent of the Korean Thanksgiving. Friday night, we had a potluck then all
went out as a staff. It was a lot of fun! Saturday morning, I woke up and left
for a small island off the east coast of Jeju called U-do. We drove to the east
side then took a ferry, which was kind of fun. Once we got to U-do, there were
a bunch of other people from Jeju schools, and it was nice to meet some people
outside of KIS. We played beach volleyball, swam, then camped overnight,
staying up late around a fire on the beach.
The next day, we stayed until 4pm or so swimming and playing
volleyball, then made the trek back to KIS. On the way home, we stopped at a
restaurant where we had a very spicy stir-fry chicken dish, which was then
covered in cheese. It also had sweet potato dumplings in it. It was incredible,
but the spicy was intense.
Monday, we bummed around all day then went to the casino at
night. I lost, but it was fun. It’s illegal for Koreans to gamble, but tourists
can, which is kind of weird. It was basically a dozen or so Chinese folks and
us Americans. I wore my suit and a black bow tie just to class it up Casino
Royale style. Tuesday was relaxing. A friend and I ventured to some waterfalls
close to the beach. The island is really really beautiful, and I love the
little nooks and crannies that you can find like that. Still trying to process
that I can visit things like that whenever I want.
Wednesday, the kids came back. In a way, it was nice to see
them again, but a little sad to leave the peace and quiet behind! Now, it’s straight
through to the end of October before my next break. Then, before I know it,
I’ll be venturing home for the Boesch wedding and Christmas festivities. Time
travels at light speed these days. I bought a car today! So that's another fun development. Looking forward to taking it out around the island.
I also figured out how to write my address on an envelope! So
that’s a fun development. If you feel like sending anything to me (first of
all, you rock), send me a message, and I’ll send you the photo of how it should
look.
Shout out to my incredible cousin, Charlotte Samuels! Girl
can swim. She just completed the “triple crown of open water swimming” at age
15, the youngest person to ever do so, and also did all three swims in the
shortest span of time at 74 days. If you ever need motivation, there’s your
girl. She swam over twenty hours in the English Channel. I can’t think of
anything I’ve ever done for 20 hours straight, let alone something that
exhausts you. You’re a champ, Char!
That’s really all to report for now. Will write again if
anything fun comes up. Thanks for reading!
-Ryan
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